Former UM Swimmer Earns Gold at Summer Olympics
Aug. 10, 2008
Beijing, China – Former University of Miami swimmer Manon van Rooijen earned a gold medal while incoming freshman Kelci Bryant finished fourth in their respective events late Saturday/early Sunday during the Olympic Games in Beijing, China.
Van Rooijen was a member of the gold medal winning Women’s 4×100 Freestyle Relay swimming team for the Netherlands this past weekend as her team posted a winning time of 3:33.76. It was just 0:00.14 seconds off their current world record-holding time of 3:33.62 set back in March.
Serving as an alternate for the finals, Van Rooijen did swim during the preliminary round in the anchor leg of the event helping the Netherlands to a second-place time (3:37.61) in their heat behind the United States.
Van Rooijen currently holds four records in swimming at the University of Miami, including the 100m Freestyle and being a member of the 200m Freestyle Relay squad. She is ranked among the top 5 in two other events for the Hurricanes as well.
This is the second time in three Olympic Games that the former Hurricanes great has been a part of an Olympic Team. She swam for Holland in 2000 in Sydney, Australia capturing the silver medal in the 4×100 Freestyle Relay.
The Netherlands has been well-represented by the Hurricanes in the past during the Olympics as former swimmer Daphne Jongejans competed for her home country during the 1984 (Los Angeles, Calif.), 1988 (Seoul, South Korea) and 1992 (Barcelona, Spain) Olympic Games.
Van Rooijen will look to try and add to her medal collection on Wednesday as she swims with the Netherlands as a part of their 4×200 Freestyle Relay.
Incoming UM freshman diver Kelci Bryant was a member of the fourth-place finishing Women’s Synchronized 3m Springboard Diving team combined with partner Ariel Rittenhouse for a score of 314.40. China took top honors followed by Russia and Germany in that order.
For a complete schedule and results for the Olympic Games in Beijing, please log on to the official Olympic Games website at http://en.beijing2008.cn.
